Long Live Heavy Metal

Ah what a delight to hear the goofy shrieks of Cam Pipes again. He is probably one of the most controversial "clean" singing metal vocalists, you often love him or hate him. You should have already guessed at this point that this reviewer is in the former category, and even thinks Cam is a beast in Long Live Heavy Metal, the 5th studio album from the Canadians of 3 Inches of Blood. And that there is no reason to think any fan of this band - or any Heavy Metal fan who can stomach Pipes' vocals - would not like this major release. Let's get straight to the point: this album kicks large amounts of ass. It includes 12 tracks (10 songs + 2 instrumentals), and every single song is catchy as hell and a perfect excuse to pump fists, jump, slay, mosh, bang heads, throw horns up in the air, and then down, and then up, and then down again. The whole album is exactly what the title hints when your first look at the cover: a 52-minute long anthem and tribute to heavy metal. It is outrageously cliché, and one can even say it is nowhere near being innovative, granted. But 3 Inches of Blood is one of the most fun band of this subgenre to listen to out there, and they are showing here they intend to scrupulously remain so. Now a word on the music. Well if you are acquainted with the band already, you already know 3 Inches of Blood is all about playing pure style Heavy Metal with a high-pitched screaming bastard (the aforementioned Cam Pipes). This is exactly - as usual - what they are doing here, and damn well at that. Galloping riffs, emphasis on the rhythm, simple melodies, solos, repetitive choruses. A lot of cliché and/or cheesy moments - again, as usual - but always for the best. The pace is usually set from mid-tempo to fast. From the neck-breaker Leather Lord, the voice-shatterer 4000 Torches, the crazy Leave it on the Ice, the cheesy Look Out ("He slayed the dragon each and every night, it was his right"), to the Mega Man reminiscent opening riff of Men of Fortune and the very good outro One for the Ditch, this album is first and foremost set on the "FUN" notch. Bottom line: you will like this album if you liked their previous releases, you will not if you already know you cannot stand the vocals. And if you are new to the band, Long Live Heavy Metal would actually be a good starting point. Check it out! Leather Lord (Youtube)